Melbourne: Australia's radiation watchdog advised that baby monitors should be kept a metre away from cots, to minimize any electromagnetic emissions. The Federal Government's Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) recommended that due to the lack of scientific evidence on mobile and cordless phone use by children, parents should encourage their children to limit their exposure, media reported.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, nearly 25 percent of nine-year-olds and at least 75 percent of high school students own a mobile phone. The ARPANSA fact sheet states that wireless technology is so new that it is impossible to be completely sure that there is not any risk. The agency said that baby monitors, Wi-Fi computer networks and wireless security cameras also emit radiofrequency electromagnetic energy.

They said that exposure can be reduced by "keeping them at a distance" -like placing the wireless router away from where people spend time, or reducing the time spent online. The agency suggests that people should use an old-fashioned wired-in landline phone instead of cordless ones, as many of them "continually transmit low-level signals."

They also said that keeping baby monitors a metre from cots could result in a "useful reduction in exposure."